Chance for free comic books coming up soon

The skies are blue (some of the time). Warmer weather is breaking through Erie's prolonged winter in fits and starts.

And everyone's favorite early May semi-holiday is only days away. Of course, I'm referring to Free Comic Book Day.

For those of you who aren't familiar with it, Free Comic Book Day is celebrated at comic book stores around the country on the first Saturday of May by -- not surprisingly -- giving out free comic books.

This year, the event lands on May 4, and I know my nephew Deacon and I will likely be out waiting in line for our free comics.

The event has become so popular that whatever big summer blockbuster movie coming out based on Marvel Comics characters is usually released to coincide with Free Comic Book Day. In 2012, "The Avengers" was released the day after Free Comic Book Day.

This year, "Iron Man 3" will open in theaters the day before the event.

There are two comic book shops participating in Free Comic Book Day in the Erie area.

Books Galore, 5546 Peach St., will be where my nephew and I will stop -- and where I go each week to get new comics. If you go, remember to bring a nonperishable food item and dress up like your favorite superhero, sci-fi or fantasy character to pick up a few extra freebies.

Above & Beyond Comics, 1126 W. 26th St., will also be handing out some free comics.

The day tends to be the biggest of the year for comic shops, and that's not surprising when you consider that almost any business would see a spike in traffic if it just offered to give things away for free. But this isn't something that should excite just the comic-book faithful.

If you have the time and any interest in graphic storytelling, I strongly suggest you go out and pick up one of the free books. Contrary to the images your mind might conjure up, the options are not just Marvel and DC's superhero fare -- although DC is offering a special Superman-based book in celebration of the soon-to-be-released "Man of Steel" film.

Among the selections will be a special issue of Image Comics' incredibly popular "Walking Dead" series -- which spawned an even more popular television series on AMC.

I'm probably most looking forward to picking up "Marble Season," written and drawn by alternative comics legend Gilbert Hernandez.

For the young ones interested in a free comic, the books listed for this year include stories about the Smurfs, Sesame Street, SpongeBob SquarePants and a Sonic the Hedgehog-Mega Man crossover.

And not all of the children's fare is based on massive TV and movie franchises. Each year, indie publisher Top Shelf comics has a collection of some of the more endearing, incredibly written and drawn children's stories you can find.